BORIS Johnson was accused of “running feart” during his day trip to Scotland.
Over the weekend the Prime Minister had been out on the streets of Birmingham where he had met with shoppers, and posed for photographs.
Yesterday’s visit to Scotland saw him camped out in one of the most secure locations in the western world.
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Secured inside naval base Faslane, there was at least half a mile of armed police and barbed wire between Johnson and any member of the Scottish public.
The closest he came to meeting voters was in Edinburgh on the short walk from his car to the steps of Bute House to meet Nicola Sturgeon.
A crowd who had got wind of his arrival loudly booed.
Around half an hour later, when the meeting had finished, rather than face the booing again, Johnson left by the back door.
The First Minister later said that she could not recall any other Prime Minister leaving Bute House by any door other than the front door.
Answering questions from journalists earlier in the day, Johnson said it was “nonsense,” that he was hiding from voters in Scotland.
“Who was there at Aberdeen Airport?” he asked the assembled reporters, referencing his visit to the North East in May. “Who was there at Aberdeen Airport where I met all sort of – in a completely unhomogenised, unpasteurised, absolutely – I met all sorts of members of the public.”
He said the reason he was not taking part in any street activity today was because he had a “a very heavy timetable”.
“I’ve got to go and meet Ruth and Nicola Sturgeon and various other people and my commitments are very heavy.
“But who was there at Aberdeen Airport when I –”
“None of us”, said one of the reporters, “we weren’t allowed because it was a private event”.
“Ah right,” Johnson replied. “Un that that case I’m very sorry. But you would have seen only wholly genuine and uncontrived non Potemkin scenes, in which I was very warmly received by a hen party and many others.”
The SNP’s Pete Wishart said Johnson “clearly doesn’t have a clue about Scotland”.
He added: “This bungled flying visit has only served to underline just how out of touch this hard-right, extreme Brexit Tory Government is. It’s no wonder that Johnson’s secretive excursion saw him running feart and hiding away from the people of Scotland in a submarine.
“The Tories are tanking in the polls, while support for independence is growing – and a majority of Scots now want a fresh referendum.”
Wishart added: “Any pretence that Scotland will be treated as an equal partner in the UK has long been abandoned.
“It’s clearer than ever that the only way to properly protect Scotland’s interests is by becoming an equal and independent European country.”
During the question and answer session, the Prime Minister also insisted that he could still agree a new Brexit deal with Brussels before Halloween.
Over the weekend, Michael Gove said the Government’s assumption was now that Brussels would not change their offer, and the UK would have little choice but to crash out of Europe on October 31.
Johnson denied this: “We are aiming for a new deal as I have said and that is what I think we can achieve”.
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